Celebrating industry excellence
This year’s Responsible Canadian Energy Awards recognized five Canadian oil and natural gas companies for innovative projects that demonstrate improvements in sustainable resource development.
The awards are part of the Responsible Canadian Energy ( RCE) program introduced by the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers ( CAPP) in 2010. The program represents a collective commitment by CAPP member companies to continuously improve, measure and report on their performance in the areas of people, air, water and land.
“CAPP’s annual RCE awards recognize oil and natural gas companies that are demonstrating continuous performance improvement in health and safety, environment and social responsibility,” says CAPP president and chief executive officer Dave Collyer. “The projects selected exemplify the innovation and best practices that help to elevate our overall performance as an industry.”
A record 34 nominations were submitted this year to the RCE Advisory Group.
“Again this year, the submissions showcase the ongoing progress being made by the oil and gas industry in the crucial areas of the environment, health and safety, and social impact,” says Anne McLellan, RCE Advisory Group chairperson. “This continued progress, and commitment, is key to retaining the public’s support for the industry.” Health and Safety Award : Talisman Energy, Cypress 3D
Seismic Program Talisman’s Cypress 3D Seismic Program was a large- scale, low- impact geophysical exploration located 100 kilometres northwest of Fort St. John, B. C. The project was completed in five months without a single lost- time injury and protected more than 200 migratory songbird nests from impact.
“Our priority was to acquire seismic data safely without harm to employees and contractors,” says Rick Warters, Talisman’s vice- president geosciences Canada. “We also wanted to ensure minimal environmental impact and address concerns from local stakeholders, including First Nations.”
As many as seven helicopters were used daily to move equipment and people to remote work areas. To minimize aviation risk, Talisman used several safety protocols, including ensuring landmarks were visible before helicopter takeoff, cockpit cameras to monitor instruments and pilots, review of helipads to prevent rotor strikes and strict adherence to helicopter performance levels.
Work had to be conducted during the nesting season for migratory song birds. About 16 to 20 biologists working on the project located the bird nests prior to surface activity and helped protect nestlings from disturbance. Valuable bird density and population data was collected and can be used for further study. Social Award: Japan Canada Oil Sands ( JACOS), Aboriginal Review Group Aboriginal and Japanese cultural traditions united to deliver mutual respect and consensus for the JACOS Hangingstone Expansion project in the oil sands.
In collaboration with aboriginal stakeholders, JACOS established the Aboriginal Review Group ( ARG) to benefit from traditional knowledge during an environmental impact assessment.
“ARG is a unique opportunity to bring First Nations, Metis locals and aboriginal trappers together with JACOS and an independent environmental consulting firm to learn from each another,” says John Charuk, JACOS’ manager of land and stakeholder relations. “For Hangingstone it has led to an open, honest sharing of information about the development and its long- term implications.”
Prior to clearing the work site, JACOS and ARG held a “pre- disturbance” ceremony that combined aboriginal and Japanese cultural traditions in a blessing of the land. ARG will meet quarterly to tour the site, advise on environmental and wildlife monitoring, and observe construction and operational activities.
ARG will continue its work until the Hangingstone site is reclaimed in about 30 years, when traditional activities on the land will resume. Environment Award: Devon Energy, In Situ Oil Sands Wildlife Mitigation and Monitoring
Program Devon Canada’s In Situ Oil Sands Wildlife Mitigation and Monitoring Program is recognized by regulators as the best in the industry, offering the most comprehensive wildlife mitigation commitments and monitoring programs in the oil sands.
The program includes longterm wildlife monitoring programs, extensive commitments to mitigations aimed at reducing project- level impacts, regional collaborative caribou research and conservation programs, state- of- the- art bear- smart practices, and innovative wildlife inventory techniques for remote areas and hard- to- detect species.
For example, barriers to animal movement are eliminated by building above- ground pipelines high enough to allow wildlife to travel under, or installing bridges to allow animals to pass over. Wildlife interactions with above- ground pipelines are monitored
and external stakeholders, leads to better planning and decisions for the environment and for our business.” Chair’s Award: Laricina Energy, Heavy Equipment Training
Program Laricina Energy’s heavy equipment program enables the Bigstone Cree Nation ( BCN) in northern Alberta to participate in the development taking place in their community and provides solutions to workforce challenges that face both the oil and gas industry and First Nation communities.
“The BCN community wants to be involved in the work happening
THE PROJECTS ... EXEMPLIFY THE INNOVATION AND BEST PRACTICES THAT ELEVATE OUR PERFORMANCE
using snow tracking and remote cameras. This monitoring helps to identify wildlife- crossing hotspots for species like caribou, moose and lynx.
“Wildlife and biodiversity are extremely important to our stakeholders and they want to be involved,” says Amit Saxena, Devon’s supervisor of biodiversity and land stewardship. Community groups help conduct fieldwork and Devon works closely with non- governmental groups to ensure the program is all- inclusive.
“We’re using real science, real biology to predict and mitigate impacts, and it actually feeds into our project designs. That, combined with trust with internal in their backyard and need the skills that will allow them to participate,” says Derek Keller, Laricina’s vice- president of production.
The heavy- equipment training program is designed to help the BCN by providing long- term benefits such as team building, economic development, projectmanagement skills, landuse planning and increased development of skilled labour, while building a sustainable community.
In partnership with the BCN, Alberta Works Human Services and two industry developers, Laricina delivered the threemonth program to 12 local residents, who learned how to use
rock trucks, excavators, bulldozers, skid- steers and graders. The program involved landscaping, ditching, grading and finishing an 11- home housing subdivision within the BCN reserve. Because of the program’s success, a second subdivision of 22 homes was built. “The program is about building sustainable training programs, a strong workforce and community ownership,” says Keller. President’s Award: Suncor, Hydrocarbon blanket gas and
recovery system Suncor has virtually eliminated volatile organic compound ( VOC) emissions from its Terra Nova floating production storage and offloading ( FPSO) oil production vessel off the coast of St. John’s, N. L., thanks to a new hydrocarbon blanket gas and recovery system.
“That’s significant, because in the past Terra Nova accounted for around 17% of Suncor’s total VOC emissions,” says Peter Alexander, Suncor’s director of facilities engineering, exploration and production.
In conventional crude oil storage tanks, pressure is managed by venting inert gas and VOCs into the atmosphere. With Suncor’s new system, FPSO cargo tanks are blanketed with natural gas that is recovered and returned to the production process.
Because the system is expected to operate for the remaining life of the Terra Nova field ( 2027), environmental and economic benefits will be returned many times over, notes Alexander. Using Recycled Tailings Water for
In Situ Make- up Water An industryleading process to send water from tailings ponds through a pipeline for use as make- up water at its Firebag in situ operations has helped Suncor to reduce freshwater demand.
Further expansion of the project through collaboration with industry partners will see Suncor tailings water sent to other in situ operators, resulting in an overall decline in regional freshwater use across industry.
“At Suncor we have adopted the view that waste represents a potential resource for our operations and for the industry,” says Prit Kotecha, Suncor’s director of environmental excellence and climate strategy. “By casting aside long- held perceptions about waste we can realize greater environmental performance in the oil sands.”
Suncor has shared learnings from the process with members of the Canadian Oil Sands Innovation Alliance, allowing companies with similar facilities in other areas to implement the process.
Social Prosperity Wood Buffalo Social Prosperity Wood Buffalo has helped to build a stronger, more proactive non- profit sector in the community that is better equipped to deal with the complex challenges faced by a rapidly growing region.
The five- year community- driven project collaboration among stakeholders in the regional municipality of Wood Buffalo, the University of Waterloo and the Suncor Energy Foundation helps to promote learning and relationship building. The project emerged from Suncor’s vision to improve quality of life in the region by developing and sustaining innovation and social change.
“The energy industry has a responsibility to contribute to the communities that we impact by our business,” says Suncor’s Kim Nordbye. “The social sector is critical to the fabric of the community, providing services that range from recreation to crisis intervention. If it is strong and better able to provide appropriate services, the whole community is impacted.”